Marketing is a broad business subject that encompasses a range of activities including advertising, public relations, sales, and promotions. Generally, you will find that people often confuse sales with marketing, when in fact the two are quite different. Marketing is all about getting a product or service into the market, promoting it, influencing behavior, and encouraging sales turnover. Sales, quite distinctly, is the actual transaction of getting a product or service into the hands of your customers.

With so many messages being propelled towards all of us these days, it is more critical than ever for a company to get their product noticed. This means marketers have evolved to being creative. Marketing is not an exact science and managers who know little about it are afraid that the marketing staff within their firm is often wasting valuable money. The truth is that marketing is an investment that always pays off; it just may come back in ways that are not necessarily measurable. So even though one campaign may bring moderate results, another will bring astonishing profits.

Companies not committed to a marketing program are at a disadvantage in today's business world. Those who are still focused on their products, rather than their customers, are doomed to experience lots of failure. Knowing what your clients' expectations are and working to exceed them is the key to ultimate business success.

There are millions of marketing ideas just waiting to be spawned. If you need to generate ideas, start by brainstorming on paper or on the computer. One small idea usually leads to many other ideas. Alternatively you can do a web search for the specific marketing ideas you are looking to use in your marketing program. If you lack the talent or time to be creative and generate your own marketing ideas, there are marketing agencies that can assist you to build a complete marketing program.

When you are planning your marketing program, keep in mind the hurdles you may face, and think of ways to eliminate them. Some things that may hold you back from implementing your marketing ideas include budget shortfalls, lack of skill, or being understaffed. Think of ways around this as you plan your strategy for the future.

Finally, think about the specific actions that you can use in a marketing campaign. Your marketing actions might include advertising, sponsorship, branding, and public relations. Or, you may want to stick with direct mail, product packaging and creating promotional materials such as pens or caps. Whatever method you choose, make sure you are pointing excited energy in that direction. It will be reflected in the results!

The author has discovered one of the secrets to getting the word "out there" regarding your product or service. She has shared this information with hundreds of business owners over the last 20 plus years and helped them to improve their business.

Andrea Lee Churchill is passionate about marketing and is the webmaster of FWS Marketing